When talking about airport security, we generally focus on what travelers are carrying, not what they’re wearing. But thanks to the TSA recently cracking down on passengers’ fashion choices, style is now a part of the airport security conversation. Forget regulations on liquids or weapons: the TSA’s new security threat is clothing, accessories and hairdos, or so they seem to think.

On July 16th, a TSA spokeswoman tweeted a photo of black pumps that had small replica guns as heels. The shoes were confiscated by the TSA at New York’s Laguardia Airport despite the fact that they could have been easily verified as non-weapons. Also in the tweeted photograph was a black belt lined with mock silver bullets. While mock weapons aren’t ever supposed to be admitted on planes, I have to wonder: how far does that regulation extend? Would a charm bracelet with a mock handgun be permitted?

The TSA’s fashion crackdown has also come to include dreadlocks. Numerous reports have surfaced involving hair searches if the passenger sports dreads. Other style conflicts include an instance in which a male TSA officer recently told a 15-year-old traveler to cover herself in a criticism of her tank top, leggings and button-down shirt (not that it matters; it’s not appropriate for a TSA officer to remark on the perceived modesty or lack thereof in regard to passenger clothing).The TSA’s Fashion Dont’s include (or seem to include):

Don’t wear accessories that include mock weapons or accessories for weapons, no matter how small or obviously fake.

Don’t wear loose head coverings, religious or otherwise.

Don’t wear body piercings.

Don’t wear thick shirts.

Don’t wear studded clothing.

Don’t have dreadlocks.

Don’t wear tank tops.

Do’s include:

Do wear slip-on shoes.

Do wear comfortable, layered clothing.

Do remove as much jewelry beforehand as possible.

Have your fashion choices been judged by the TSA? Share your stories in the comments below.

If you are the kind of traveler who lives for digging through flea markets and wandering through souks, you might want to travel over to ProjectBly.com, a new lifestyle website featuring a rotation of world street market collections. In addition to shopping for carefully curated home goods and textiles, you can also check out street photography, food, fashion and members’ profiles.

Bly highlights a new city and one-of-a-kind market goods every two months, working with local photojournalists to capture the style and spirit of each place. The website works with local vendors and artisans directly to get a fair price on goods, and gives 5 percent of proceeds to local charities. The first featured city is Mumbai, India, with La Paz, Bolivia, debuting in early June. Other cities planned for the first year include Kumasi, Ghana; Bukhara, Uzbekistan; Malacca, Malaysia; and Berlin, Germany.

Bly is named after Nellie Bly, a pioneering female journalist who traveled around the world in 72 days in 1889 with just two day’s notice and one small bag (check out a nifty drawing of Nellie Bly’s packing list, which included a flask and a jar of cold cream). The founder of Bly, Rena Thiagarajan, was born in the former Indian city of Madras (now Chennai) and now lives in San Francisco, and has traveled the world in search of unique design finds and street culture.

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Get hunting at ProjectBly.com and check out the slideshow of street photography featured on the site.

The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, London, is putting on a fashion show, although the fashions are more than 400 years out of date.

“In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion” examines the luxurious clothing and jewelry worn by British monarchs and members of their court. It focuses on the two dynasties of the 16th and 17th centuries with everything from ornamental armor for a teenaged Prince of Wales to a bejeweled case for storing the black fabric patches that Queen Mary II stuck on her face to emphasize the whiteness of her skin.

Many of the items are on display for the first time, such as a diamond signet ring given by King Charles I to his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, in 1628. It bears her cypher and the royal coat of arms. Another never-before-seen piece is a pendant of gold, rubies and diamond with a miniature portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. There are also some elegant articles of clothing like a pair of lacework gloves.

Of course, most costumes and jewelry from this period have disappeared, no matter how important their owners. To augment the exhibition there are more than 60 portraits showing royalty and nobility wearing their finest, including a startling portrait of a Duchess dressed as a man.

This summer, three new eco-fashion-oriented package tours will offer the chance for ethical designers, makers and consumers to meet artisan communities, take workshops in craft production and see the impact of their conscious purchasing decisions.

While different in structure, these trips all offer the chance to travel along an artisan product’s supply chain, from visiting farming communities in Ecuador, to knitting with naturally dyed alpaca yarn in Peru, to shopping finished products in Guatemalan boutiques.

Even for people who don’t geek out on beautiful textiles and hand looms, these trips offer a different way to travel, one that emphasizes connections with the people behind your souvenirs.

Awamaki-Kollabora Collaborative Crafting Workshop

When: May 25 to June 2, 2013Where: Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley, PeruPerfect for: Students, or travelers who seek an authentic off-the-beaten-path experienceWhat: “A cross-cultural tour pairing you with a Rumira knitter to develop a Kollabora knit item using local, hand-spun alpaca yarn. We trace the entire creation of your project through hands-on engagement: visiting alpaca farms high in the Andes to source fleece, learning to spin fleece into soft yarns, dyeing yarn skeins with native plant dyes alongside Quecha weavers, and studying the local backstrap loom.”Accommodations: Home-stays with Awamaki’s host families.Side trips: Incan ruins, markets in Cusco, Machu Picchu.Organized by: Kollabora, an online community for DIY inspiration, projects, skills and supplies, in partnership with Awamaki, a non-profit that supports artisan groups in Peru’s Sacred Valley.Price: $1,799, which includes home-stay accommodations, most meals, day trips, guides and crafting materials. Fee does not cover international airfare to/from Cusco, visas, travel or health insurance, tips and personal purchases.For more information: Visit the trip description page or email peru@kollabora.com.Mercado Global Insight Trip: Community Empowerment

When: June 30 to July 4, 2013Where: Lake Atitlan and Antigua, GuatemalaPerfect for: People who are curious about social enterprise models and their impact on communities. Mercado Global also offers a Women Helping Women trip for women interested in mentoring and a Financial Empowerment trip for people interested in the entrepreneurial side of rural artisan businesses.What: “An exclusive week-long journey that fuses service, leadership, and once-in-a-lifetime cultural exchange. Attendees will meet the indigenous Maya women we partner with in the Guatemalan highlands and learn about how their transformation into leaders has impacted their families and their communities.”Accommodations: Four-star lodging in Lake Atitlan and Antigua.Side trips: Boat trip to Santiago Atitlan, tours of colonial Antigua.Organized by: Mercado Global, a social enterprise that links rural indigenous artisans to international markets in order to break the cycle of poverty.Price: $1900, which includes accommodations, all meals, local transportation, guides and translation and staff support. Fee does not cover airfare.For more information: Visit the website or contact Leah Vinton at community@mercadoglobal.org.

Fashion Designers Without Borders Immersive Sourcing Safari

When: July 22 to 28, 2013Where: Quito, Tena and Otavalo, EcuadorPerfect for: Fashion industry professionals who want to explore opportunities to collaborate with developing world artisans. Other sourcing safaris have taken place in Kenya and Guatemala.What: “Climb volcanoes, trek the Amazon and get lost in cloud forests. Ecuador’s atmospheric landscapes, resources and people will enchant you. Recognize new opportunities in accessories development. Appreciate the unique resources of this truly magical place.”Accommodations: Four- to five-star hotels in Otavalo (in the Andes), Quito and Tena (in the Amazon).Side trips: Activities at an Amazon jungle lodge, trip to the Inga Alpaca Farm, tour of colonial Quito.Organized by: The Supply Change, a consultancy that connects the fashion industry with global artisan communities, in partnership with The Andean Collection, a line of handcrafted accessories with a social mission.Price: $4000, including accommodations, meals, day trips and local transportation. Fee does not cover airfare.For more information: Visit the website or contact Chrissie Lam at chrissie@thesupplychange.org.

Possibly the most famous thing to ever come out of Seoul, “Gangnam Style” has become one of the few things most people in the world know about South Korea. Judging by the more than 1.3 billion views Psy’s music video currently has on YouTube, the most viewed video on the site, I can assume that if you haven’t seen it multiple times, you have at least heard of it. I’m only just now, able to walk around my neighborhood without hearing it emanating from some convenience store, restaurant or clothing stand, almost 7 months after its first release.

Seoul itself is trying to capitalize on the song’s quickly receding viral takeover and convert it into tangible tourism money. This can be seen quite obviously with the ridiculous sign that they have installed outside of Gangnam Station with “GANGNAM STYLE” in huge letters for all to see and take pictures with. However, when I was there, more people seemed interested in the big Nike ad immediately next to it.Gangnam is more than just a call to dance as though you are riding a majestic horse. Specifically, it is a place in Seoul. Seoul is divided up into districts, much like New York City is divided into boroughs, and Gangnam is one of its 25 districts. Meaning “south of the river,” Gangnam is roughly 25 square miles in size (40 square kilometers) and is one of the busiest and most economically important regions of the city. The area is known for its newly built skyscrapers, alleys upon alleys of neon-lit international restaurants, shopping malls, language schools and especially its nightlife. But most of all, it is probably best known within Korea as a place of opulence and expense.

A newly installed display near Gangnam Station for people to try their hand at the renowned dance.

Hoards of people outside of Gangnam station on their way home or out shopping.

Before even leaving Gangnam’s Station, you are inundated with ads for plastic surgery, name-brand handbags, watches for yachtsmen and high-rise real estate. After exiting, you are greeted by walls of people and towers of commerce topped with pulsing electronic billboards. What seem to be boring side streets are actually paths that will inevitably lead you to hip fusion restaurants serving up some of the best food you can imagine. In many ways Gangnam is the realization of the Seoul’s cultural aspirations to link the East and the West.

A boutique in Garosugil, a popular destination for international tourists.

Fashion is a huge part of Gangnam’s reputation. There are a large number of neighborhoods individually famous within Korea for their density of trendy boutiques as well as big labels, often accompanied by luxurious price tags. In this regard, many compare it to New York’s 5th avenue or Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive.

Skyscrapers are constantly sprouting up in the district as real-estate prices continue to rise.

Plastic surgery ads show the drastic work done to achieve the ideal appearance.

South Korea has become the world’s center for plastic surgery, and the Gangnam neighborhood Apgujeong is its focal point. The streets are lined with plastic surgery clinics advertising drastic before and after photos. I find it hard to believe that a lot of these are even the same people. The streets are always littered with people donning surgical facemasks, hiding their newly modified faces, still bruised from surgery. As an added bonus, numerous luxury car dealerships are sprinkled between the clinics.

Even within Gangnam Station is a maze of shopping choices.

Gangnam is also one of the main nightlife hubs of the country. Primarily a scene for clubs and loud bars, many go out wearing their most expensive outfits for a night of fun and extravagance, or at least pretending. Gangnam has the notorious reputation of being a place where people go exclusively to meet and hopefully hookup with the young and wealthy.

Eccentric, cute and crazy socks are a huge deal in Seoul. No region of the city is complete without their own sock stand.

Before concluding, the pronunciation of Gangnam is worth clarifying. Most people seem to pronounce it “Gayng-nim.” However, it’s more correct to pronounce the As more like when the doctor puts a popsicle stick in your mouth and asks you to go “aaaah.” “Gahngnahm.”

Psy is poised to oversaturate the market with all of his endorsements. Here he is on a Gangnam bus ad for a travel agency.

It’s very easy to see how Gangnam got its high-class reputation. Just walking around serves up constant reminders around each corner. In the rare case that you forget, Psy’s grinning face is likely to pass you on a bus.